The Loyola Phoenix reports that current and former professors started their own punk bank, aptly titled “no.no.no.NO,” to protest “Donald Trump’s presidency and the volatile social climate it has created.”

The band is: Christopher Martiniano, a professor in Loyola’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, former Loyola psychology professor Raedy Ping, vocalist and Martiniano’s cousin Anna Raymo and seasoned punk guitarist Jane Danger.

The group have released a four-song demo on their webpage and Vimeo and will play their first show at Martyrs’ this week.

The band’s demo page includes four songs that sprinkle Trump’s comments from public appearances in the music. Its manifesto begins:

#Resistance + #disruption take many forms. no.no.no.NO. is our form. Our #resistance draws from the kinetic energies of riot grrrl, punk, funk, R&B, industrial, and hip hop. We follow those who #resisted and #disrupted before us with their music …
The current desire to normalize that which is not normal, decent, and intelligent will not stand.

Not on our watch: no.no.no.NO.

Despite the Catholic doctrine of the school, they espouse pro-abortion ideals: support for unrestricted abortion rights, “We say no to … legislation that strips women of bodily autonomy.”

From their site:

We say no to those who spread xenophobia, homophobia, and Islamophobia.

We say no to those who systematically marginalize and disenfranchise any individual or community based on race, religion, ability, or gender.

We say no to leaders who attempt to defund programs that encourage, enrich, and preserve our understanding of diverse human experiences.

We say no to a government that interferes with scientific investigation and exploration.

We say no to any systematic attempt to limit the press and curtail the right to assemble in protest.

We say no to those who disseminate #AlternativeFacts.

We say no to sexual predation and legislation that strips women of bodily autonomy.

We say no to any attempts to normalize the unconstitutional increase of authoritarian state power.

We say no to a government that criminalizes, punishes, and shames poor people

We say no to the increased militarization of a police state that is grounded in anti-blackness

There is a video below.

photo/ Mary Pahlke via pixabay

From the Phoenix interview:

Raymo said she thinks the mission of no.no.no.NO. is to call out Trump directly and inspire others to do the same. That message isn’t ambiguous in the band’s music — “ameNO” is essentially an anti-Trump battle cry, angrily calling the president a “small man” and declaring he “Can’t read / Can’t speak / Can’t lead.”

“Socially, I hope we reach people and inspire people to do things like we’re doing,” Raymo said. “Not everybody needs to make music, but in some capacity, [I hope] they feel like they can say things and feel like they’ll be taken seriously.”

“It’s been a couple years since I’ve played music in a band, because really nothing’s spoken to me,” Danger said. “Once I heard what [Martiniano] was doing, I thought it was great. Of course I’ll put my energies into things I think are important like that.”

Danger also said she believes the presence of female musicians is important in no.no.no.NO., although she resents the term, “female-fronted rock band.”

“I’ve been in bands that were all women, and we’d just get paired up with another band that’s got a female vocalist or another band that’s all women,” Danger said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, you’re women? Let’s just put you on the same bill.’ But we’re nothing alike. It’s awful to be categorized like that and pigeon-holed, but I think if women have that platform now, they should use it to the fullest extent they can.”

Besides being inspired by the current political climate, Martiniano said he and Ping were both somewhat influenced by the Loyolan and Jesuit value of social justice when creating the band.

“Any activist mind is about that, social change and social justice, whether or not you want to call it ‘activist’ or ‘Jesuit,’” Martiniano said. “I can put words to what we do that are ‘Jesuit-y,’ but … from our point of view, it’s about giving a voice to communities that don’t have that voice. For us, that’s the social justice on one side.”

About the Author

Butter Bracco - Roxanne "Butter" Bracco began with the Dispatch as Pittsburgh Correspondent, but will be providing reports and insights from Washington DC, Maryland and the surrounding region.
Contact Roxie aka "Butter" at [email protected] ATTN: Roxie or Butter Bracco

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